Lower Cape crow poison plan termed 'extreme'

EASTHAM — Federal officials explained their reasons to poison a dozen crows on two Wellfleet beaches this spring to about 175 people at a public information session last night.

MARY ANN BRAGG

EASTHAM — Federal officials explained their reasons to poison a dozen crows on two Wellfleet beaches this spring to about 175 people at a public information session last night.

But more than a dozen people openly questioned the pilot project to further protect piping plovers, calling the three-month experiment extreme, harmful to the environment, unhealthy and "sadistic."

Cape Cod National Seashore scientists and managers, in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, plan to set up fake nests with poisoned eggs to kill crows, the primary predator of the rare plovers. The March-through-May program would target crows that have learned to find food near the Seashore's protective fencing around plover nests. Ten to 12 crows is the predicted death toll this spring, Seashore Superintendent George Price said at the Salt Pond Visitor Center meeting.

Most members of the audience who spoke last night had other ideas about how to get rid of crows, including decoys, a vomit-inducing chemical, birth control and crow traps. But the federal officials said most of the ideas had already been examined and rejected as ineffective.

"Wouldn't it be more humane and more effective just to shoot them?" Eastham resident Paul Higgins asked after Seashore officials said they had identified several crows that keep returning to feed on plover nests.

Crows are the primary predator of plovers in the Seashore. Eliminating the ones doing the most damage to nests will help plover pairs thrive throughout the park, federal officials said. Controlling the crows would also reduce staff costs and visitor inconvenience when individual plover pairs have to be protected, Price said.

The Seashore hosts about 90 plover pairs every summer.

Federal scientists plan to use the avicide DRC-1339 in hard-boiled chicken eggs to poison the crows. The poisoning plan seemed to worry the audience the most.

Wellfleet resident Nancy Kunik arrived with her face marked with black paint, signifying crow's feet and tears. Kunik objected to what she said would be a chain of poison consumption that would occur if another animal ate a poisoned crow.

"I think there are other solutions," she said.

Another woman carried what appeared to be a life-size crow statue on her arm.

In the hallway, Wellfleet resident Nate Johnson handed out small signs — each with a wooden handle and a black crow cutout. A Seashore ranger asked each person to put away their sign before going into the meeting, which they did.

During the meeting, audience members raised questions about the use of avicide near water. Federal officials assured the group that the avicide would be applied according to approved safety standards, that fencing would keep the poison away from dogs, and that they would be mindful of high tides.

When asked about alternatives to the poisoning plan, the federal representatives said the avicide is among the safest and most studied chemicals, the least toxic to other animals and quick to dissolve once digested.

The plan could still be reconsidered, Price said.

The main measure of success for the crow control project will be whether there is an increase in the plover population in the Seashore, he said.